After my meandering around Merseyside I’m back home in the Calder valley. We’ve had another day of glorious sunshine but I didn’t have chance to enjoy much of it as I’ve been stuck in the office most of the day in order to edit all the pictures I’ve taken and get the Class 777 train test pictures across to RAIL magazine ready for Monday. Whilst I was at it I thought I might as well keep going and get all the other pictures from last week edited, captioned and onto my Zenfolio website.
You can find the Merseyrail images here, plus the Northern trains pictures here. There’s also a look at some stations (which you can find here) and also several new infrastructure images (here). To round things off I’ve now added the pictures from the last two train tests. So, if you want to have a look around the interiors of West Midlands trains new Class 196’s click here, whilst Transport for Wales Class 197 interior shots are here.
Now I’ve got these out of the way I can (hopefully) make the most of next week. I’ve another project to get my teeth into which involves reviews of certain scenic rail lines around the UK so good weather is essential. June’s looking like a busy month so there should be plenty to blog about.
But, right now, I’m going to call it a day. Dawn’s been busy experimenting with our new kitchen toy – a double-drawer air-fryer and the smells that are wafting upstairs from the kitchen are divine. So, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is of one of the new Stadler Class 777s which are starting to enter service on Merseyside. At the moment they’re only working Northern line services from Liverpool to Kirkby and Ormskirk but they’ll be rolled out west of the Mersey soon. The Eurovision song contest led to one of the units having special vinyl’s applied which have left it looking very colourful indeed. They’ll last for another couple of months, so catch it whilst you can.
777013 calls at Maghull whilst working a service from Ormskirk to Liverpool Central.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m currently in Huddersfield waiting for the first train of a strike day across the Pennines to Manchester, TPE’s 09:32. Dawn’s been a star and driven me over from home as there are no services through the Calder valley today (or tomorrow) which is making this job more challenging than usual.
Fortunately, the Northern service to Liverpool Lime Street that I’m due to connect with is also shown as running. The only question now is how busy they’ll be. Most people seem to have given up on the idea of travelling by rail today. Huddersfield station is unnaturally quiet. There’s a handful of RMT pickets outside and a few dozen people inside.
09:35.
It’s a strike day and bugger-all is running, but TPE are still struggling to run anything to time! We’re being told the 09:32 is currently running 9 minutes late. Looking at ‘Realtime trains’ it’s shown as losing time at every station it’s stopped at. I count around 40-45 people here waiting to catch it, including several prams and one guy with a humongous e-bike.
All aboard…
09:50.
Rolling! We all managed to squeeze on with a few seats still spare. I can’t see us picking up vast numbers en-route and some folk will be getting off on the way. In fact, as I type this we’ve stopped at Slaithwaite where several from the front car have left, including the guy with the e-bike.
We’re running 10 late now but it’s not going to affect my connection at Piccadilly so there’s no stress there. Instead I can relax and enjoy the trip across the Pennines in glorious sunshine.
10:40.
I arrived in Manchester late but unruffled, unlike the crowds waiting to board our train for the return trip to York! The platform was packed, with a few anxious faces wondering if they’d secure a seat. Piccadilly has several services running. Avanti, TfW, Cross-Country are operating as well as Northern and TPE. Over on pkatform 14 I saw TfW were operating a 2-car Class 197 to Llandudno, which is going to be ‘cosy’ judging by the amount of folk waiting to catch it. At least my Northern service to Liverpool’s diagrammed for a 6-car!
Piccadilly. Hardly a hive of activity.
11:30.
Success! I’ve set up the ‘mobile office’ aboard the 10:52 to Liverpool Lime St, having bagged a table in the front car. I’ll now be on time to meet old friend and colleague Pip Dunn so we can carry out a train test of the new Stadler built Class 777s which are slowly taking over Merseyrail services to displace the oldest electric trains on the national network, the BR built Class 507/508’s. I’ve a previous pictorial blog documenting their lives on Merseyside which you can find here.
I may be going off grid for a while whilst we’re working, but I’ll be back later…
18:00.
Job done, I’m back! I’m now heading to Southport where I’ll be stayiing at my sister’s this evening. Today’s been spent shuttling up and down between Liverpool, Ormskirk and Kirkby. My biggest challenge was to get Pip to realise the second K in Kirkby was silent so my fellow Scousers wouldn’t keep looking at him sideways whilst muttering “woolyback” under their breaths!
We journeyed on several of the new trains in order to get a decent sample, plus we talked to the crews. You’ll be able to read our views of the new trains in a forthcoming edition of RAIL magazine.
When Pip headed off I hung around to make the most of the glorious weather to get a few external shots of trains old and new. Here’s a couple of samples.
Shiny! The interior of one of Merseyrails new Class 777s.777010 calls at Kirkdale.The Daddy of the old fleet (507001) calls at Maghull with a service from Ormskirk.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for the lack of blogging these past few days but I’ve really not been in the mood. It’s not that I’ve nothing to say (far from it) but I wanted to spare you from the splenetic invective! Today I’m back on the move as I’ve a dentists appointment over in Huddersfield, after which I’ll be popping into the town before taking the camera for a walk. Compared to the past few days when we’ve had masses of sunshine and warm weather today’s reverted to cold and grey weather, but as we’re in the midst of the next tranche of rail strikes there was no chance of me getting out anywhere yesterday anyway!
Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to…
10:45.
I’m getting to the dentist via a combination of shank’s pony and bus so I’ve left in plentyof time to enjoy the walk through our local woods. This year’s been a fabulous one for Hawthorn blossom. I passed this display en-route.
There’s local and political history here too. I walked through an area called Skircoat Green past the pub called ‘The Standard of Freedom’. A blue plaque outside explains how it got its name.
10:55.
Rather conveniently, the bus stop I was walking to sits on the main road atop Salterhebble Junction where the lines from Halifax to Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse part company. I was just in time to get this shot of a Grand Central service heading for London
11:05.
I now have a grandstand seat at the front on the top deck of the 503 bus. It’s a bit of a circular tour as it passes through Elland, a small town between Halifax and Huddersfield. It’s an odd little place on the banks of the River Calder. Once it was famous for the Gamnex clothing factory. They were made famous because former Prime Minister Harold Wilson (who was born in Huddersfield) always wore one of their Mackintosh’s. The factory is long gone and the old mill it used has been converted into housing. The town centre’s very quiet nowadays with nany businesses closed and buildings up for sale. The irony? It’s a very Brexity area and the expression ‘be careful what you wish for’ springs to mind. Still, there is a good craft beer micropub to visit where you can drown your sorrows.
The Ellend Craft and Tap is across the road, next door to the post office.
11:45.
Having arrived in plenty of time I decided to go exploring. Whilst Huddersfield town centre is run-down and rough nowadays, this area is still rather posh. Down the many tree-lined streets and often hidden behind thick hedges or Rhodedendrons there’s a mix of housing, from soot-stained monumental Victorian piles to smaller Edwardian elegance and more modern stock from the 60s through to the present day which have been built on land freed by demolition of some of the old piles which must be a nightmare to heat and light in this era. Here’s a selection of what I saw.
Quirky…When you pass someone’s front garden and go ‘wait, what’?One of the more substantial terraces – and with Wysteria too…
14:30.
I’m back! I was given a clean bill of health at the surgery by both the hygienist and John, our dentist, who jokingly offered me £30,000 for my teeth as they’re in such good condition!
On leaving the surgery I walked into the town centre, ppassing this wonderful restored old tram shelter on the way.
Now I’m taking the long way home via train as I’m currently en-route to Stalybridge aboard a Trans-Pennine service from Hull to Liverpool Lime St. Still, it’s good to see that the Dept of Transport taking Trans-Pennine Express back under its control has solved the problems of cancellations and poor performance. Oh, wait…
16:10.
A quick trip across the Pennines aboard a TPE Class 185 deposited me at Stalybridge where progress on electrification of the route is steady if not spectacular. New OLE portals appear each time I visit, whilst the existing ones continue to be fitted with stovepipes, registration arms and all the other gubbins needed for the wires to be strung up.
Stalybridge. It’s like a giant Meccano set – if you’re old enough to remember that toy..
I hadn’t planned to hang around long but my plans were foiled by Northern cancelling the next Southport service due to one of the bi-mode Class 769s that ply the route breaking down. There was only one think for it – a swift pint in the buffet bar before catching a following TPE service to Manchester Victoria!
I’m now making my way back Eastwards across the Pennines aboard one of Northern’s venerable Class 150/1s. Hardly my favourite train but Northern have acquired the whole fleet (for now). Plus, they’re the oldest surviving BR built diesel multiple unit fleet so have some heritage value I suppose.
17:10.
I’m now back on the ‘right’ side of the Pennines! I changed trains at Todmoden where I was greeted by a familiar sight. I’ve posted pictures of the two ducks who inhabit platform 2 and follow you up sbd down the platform from behind the fence. Well, they’re here again today and this time I have a short video of their antics.
19:30.
Home again! It’s time to relax for a bit after walking 26,000 steps, then prepare to head off to Liverpool tomorrow for an assignment. This could be ‘interesting’ as it’s a one-way trip. Tomorrow’s another strike day which means there are no Northern trains running through the Calder Valley and TPE are running a skeleton service between Leeds and Manchester. I can (hopefully) still get to Liverpool and our target (Merseyrail) isn’t on strike and will be running a full service, but it means a night away from home as there’s no trains to take me back. Watch this space…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It may be a bank holiday weekend but today’s hardly been a day of rest, although the pace has been far less frenetic than of late as the two of us hardly moved from the house for most of Sunday. Taking it easy made up for the amount of walking we did yesterday as we had an outing to Manchester for a few hours.
For one of Dawn’s birthday presents this year I ventured right out of my comfort zone of buying perfume or scarves. Instead, I bought Dee a dress – not something many men will do for the fear of getting it wrong. Fortunately, I didn’t. Dawn loved the dress but the fitting wasn’t quite right, so our trip to Manchester included a visit to the store I’d bought it from – Japanese fashion company Uniqlo. They’re a great shop. The prices are very competitive but the quality of their stock is far better than certain cheaper brands. The only thing is – sizes do vary as nothing seems identical. This worked to Dee’s advantage as she found an identical dress in the identical size, but one that really fitted her. In fact, I ended up buying her another in the same design but a different colour. We had just enough time to pick up some foodstuff shopping in Chinatown then enjoy a drink in the sun before it was time to head back as I’d booked a table at a restaurant in Sowerby Bridge for 15:00.
The sunshine brought out the crowds in central Manchester.
Bad move.
We found that the train we were due to catch to get back in time was cancelled. No biggie, as there was another one that would get us there 25mins later. The restaurant were fine about it when I rang as it just meant we wouldn’t have our table for longer than and hour as they were fully booked. Our backup train turned out to be an asthmatic two-car class 158 that was rammed. It crawled its way as far as Castleton where it expired. The crew managed to coax it back into life but the service was terminated at Rochdale. Plan C meant we wouldn’t arrive back at Sowerby Bridge until after 16:00 – more than an hour late, so I rang the restaurant again, told them to give our table away but we’d still come in and see if we could get seats at the bar. Two trains later (we had to change at Todmorden) we finally made it into ‘The Engine’ tired and hungry way after 16:00.
Fortunately, seats were available at ‘the Chef’s table’ as they’ve named the bar facing the kitchen. This turned out to be a brilliant place to sit as we got to watch as all the food was cooked and chat to the chefs as they prepared it. It added a fascinating new dimension to the meal. The food was excellent, we ordered 6 different dishes, some of which were old favorites (the fire roasted cauliflower for example) others new. The undoubted star dish was new, slow-roasted Aubergine with pork, crispy chili and roast spiced cashew nuts. It’s superb! We can’t fault the Engine. The food is divine and the staff friendly and efficient. The combination makes for a great experience.
Here’s a few pictures from our meal.
BOQUERONES: Spanish pickled white anchovies on sun blushed tomato flatbread.FIRE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER with Pomegranate, chilli and sesame dressing.SLOW ROASTED AUBERGINE with pork, crispy chilli and crushed spiced cashew nuts.
If you want to see more of the dishes here’s a link to the current menu.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for the lack of a blog yesterday but it was my wife’s birthday so we had a lovely day away from screens and keyboards. Today I’m back on the road. I’ll try and make this a proper rolling block after the the other day’s failure to communicate. This should be easier as I’m not venturing out into the wilds where’s there’s no wifi or phone signal!
Right now I’m on Northern’s 07:07 from Halifax to York as far as Leeds which is worked by one of their 3-car Class 195s. It’s early enough in the day that it’s not packed so I’ve found a free table where I’ve been able to set up the ‘mobile office’. We’ve yet another beautifully sunny morning here in West Yorkshire and I’m hoping the good weather will stay with me as I traverse the country. I’ve a fair bit of travelling to do today and this is just the start.
The day begins…
I don’t know about where you live if you’re reading this in the UK but here the countryside is alive with Hawthorn blossom. For some reason the flowers seem really intense this year and really stand out against the lush greens of the countryside. I’ll see if I can get some pictures later as my job will be finished by mid afternoon…
08:25.
Oh, joy! My Cross-Country train to Derby is now running 15 plus minutes late after getting stuck at Garforth for some unknown reason. That means its now lost its path and will accrue even more delays so my connection at Derby to Beeston is looking lost. When a TPE service running in the opposite direction occupied our platform (15a) there was a mad scramble as knowledgeable folk twigged the problem and looked for updates. There were none on the screens and it was only because a member of platform staff had the gumption to ask some of us if we wanted the Plymouth train that we found it had sneaked in on platform 12c. We left a few minutes afterwards and I suspect some less savvy travellers will have been left behind.
08:55.
The 08:11’s a busy 4-car Voyager, so I’ve taken up position in the former shop area in coach D where I’ve set up the ‘mobile office’ on one of the luggage shelves. I may have to stand and there’s no power socket, but it’s better than being jammed in the saloon. We’re currently 17 late which means that unless we make up some time I’ll arrive at Derby after my Beeston connection has left. But, we have Sheffield to get through and train drivers don’t call it ‘the crucible’ for nothing (you have to get a red before you get a green). On the bright side, the trains CSA has just come through with the trolley, so I have coffee. He’s an affable Geordie who told me the issue at Garforth was with a Northern unit having electrical problems. This train was 2nd in the queue behind it, so was stuck until the Northern unit was fixed.
Now, having left Wakefield, I wait to see what happens at Sheffield…
09:20.
We left a bright and sunny Sheffield 18 minutes late, so unless there’s a warp drive that’s been fitted to this Voyager there’s no way we can make up enough time to catch my connection in Derby. However, I had a cunning plan – I’ve time in the bank as the train of last resort doesn’t leave Derby until 09:50, I was simply hoping to get to Beeston earlier.
09:50.
The irony! I made it to Derby only to find the Beeston train’s also running late, albeit only by a couple of minutes. So, I’m now back on track…
Derby’s expanded station
10:50.
– and to work! I met some of our East Midlands Railway and station friends groups on the train to Beeston where we all decamped to be welcomed by others. Beeston’s a lovely old station (with a fantastic pub next door, but that’s another story). The local friends group in conjunction with local authorities have done a splendid job in transforming previously overgrown areas like this.
The group listening to Sarah Hampton from the station friends explaining what the group’s been involved in.Beeston station.
17:30.
Finished! Our trip to Matlock Bath by train proved to be a grand day out. Participants were given leaflets and a running commentary that described the scenic line from Derby to Matlock and included the history of the line as well as famous historical sites along the route. At Matlock Bath we detrained to enjoy an excellent buffet lunch laid on by CMAC, one of Community Rail Network’s corporate sponsors which was served in one of the old station buildings which is now a centre for the local Wildlife Trusts. A few short speeches followed, after which, participants could either return by train or enjoy a few hours exploring Matlock.
My job done I retraced my steps to Derby only to retrace them again to head North to Sheffield. Sadly it’s no longer possible to change trains at the most logical place (Belper) as for most of the day it’s only served by Matlock line trains.
19:00.
My stop at Sheffield was brief. I’d intended to stay longer but cloud cover started to roll in and a combination of the wrong trains and the wrong weather made me adjourn to the Sheffield Tap for a ‘swifty’ on the way home. Besides, today’s ‘poets day’ (Piss-Off Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday). I may have lived by that in my day as a Government employee but it doesn’t really apply in the world of the self-employed. Still, the day’s been long – so a pint was in order…
And relax…
19:15.
My Cross-Country train from Sheffield to Leeds was a double-set so there were seats aplenty. Most of the folk in my car seemed to be young people heading for a night out in Leeds. The Northern service I’m on now is a different matter. OK, it’s only a 4-car but it’s busy but it shares a characteristic with my previous train – it’s full of folks on a night out. What I find interesting is their destinations of choice are Halifax, Hebden Bridge and….Rochdale! I’m sharing a vestibule with a group of young Asian girls heading for Hebden Bridge. Next to me are some middle-aged folk talking about going to Rochdale and Halifax. God knows where everyone else is going but I’ll be fascinated to see who gets on/off in Bradford…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Yet another day when (thanks to the glorious sunshine) it’s been anything but grim up North! T’was even cracking the flags in Manchester!
My day started pottering around at Bigland Towers before catching the train from Sowerby Bridge to nearby Mytholmroyd station to join in the Community Rail week fun with our old friends Geoff and Sue Mitchell, some of the other members of the station group plus visitors from the Calder valley Community Rail Partnership, Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail and others who came along to enjoy a guided walk from Mytholmroyd to nearby Hebden Bridge.
The event was meant to kick off with tours of the restored station building, but that nearly didn’t happen due to one of those black comedy moments that we can laugh about now, but at the time could have been far less funny. Since the building’s been restored it’s always been assumed there was no water supply. Today that turned out to be untrue, as when some protective coverings were being moved a pipe was exposed which then blew its plastic coupling to release a high pressure jet of water across the ground floor. Poor Geoff and Sue and another of their colleagues got absolutely drenched trying to reattach the pipe to stem the deluge, but if you’ve ever tried such a maneuver you’ll know it’s next to impossible. In the end, all we could do was open a drain in the floor, dam and divert the flow into it and wait for the water company to come and access the stopcock buried in the pavement outside. Thank God it was a bright sunny day and not January!
The irony? The door in the picture is equipped with flood protection – but only from the river outside…
Still, it provided some amusement for the visitors, who were still able to have a look around the upstairs of the old building. Tours over, everyone assembled for short welcome speech from Geoff before Sue (who’d dried out somewhat) led the walkers off on their exploration of the valley. Poor Geoff was left behind to dry off in the sun and wait for the water company!
“Can anyone hear running water”? The gang gathered outside the station building in Mytholmroyd before setting off for Hebden Bridge.
Having done all I could to help, and taken pictures of the event I headed off into Manchester for the rest of the afternoon to do some shopping and grab a few pictures. In many ways I’m still a city boy at heart, so it was lovely to be able to spend an afternoon exploring and people-watching, as well as stocking up on bits I needed that are hard to get elsewhere. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the weather, the city was very busy with many people taking advantages of the centre’s open spaces to relax or work outside.
Manchester’s old Midland Hotel basks in the sunshine.
Now I’m back at home ready for a day with a very different focus tomorrow. It’s someone’s birthday…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m already in ‘Bratfud’ as the locals pronounce it, waiting for the Community Rail Network and other teams to turn up for today’s assignment. A party of schoolchildren are being taken by train from Forster Square station to Ribblehead on the Settle and Carlisle railway. They’ll learn about the railways and local history en-route. Other projects are lined up for them at Ribblehead.
Getting here was a breeze. I walked down to Halifax in plenty of time to pick up the local Huddersfield-Bradford Interchange shuttle. The old Class 150 chugged its way up the hill to the other side of Bowling tunnel without problem. Hopefully we’ll have something less pedestrian to take us to Ribblehead.
Right, time to go to work. More later…
21:30.
Well, that was a crap ‘rolling’ blog – apologies! I ended up being really busy then losing mobile reception once we got onto the Settle and Carlisle, so there was no time to blog during the trip. We met up with the children at Shipley station for the trip up the S&C. Fortunately, volunteers from the friends of the S&C line had reserved half a carriage for us on the 3-car train, so we were enable to hold the STEM class on board with the kids ticking off various aspects of railway operations and equipment that they observed on the way. All along the route they were treated to a commentary about the line, the towns it passed through and features of the countryside, like the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.
At Ribblehead the kids were spilt into two groups. One group visited the famous viaduct and learned about its construction whilst the second group got to grips with building their own viaduct in one of the station rooms before the two groups swapped over. My job was to document the day, which was a challenge when one considers the restrictions that are sometimes imposed by the needs of child protection. Even so, I managed some great interactive shots both on the train and at Ribblehead. Here’s a shot of some of the happy band at the viaduct along with teaching staff, representatives from Community Rail Network, Northern and Network Rail.
The great outdoors. Not an environment many of these children are used to visiting. A large proportion had never even been on a train before.
As we walked back to the station this heavy stone train passed us heading North, the 20 wagons and locomotive fitting neatly onto the viaduct. Many of the children were rather impressed with the sight and surroundings.
We returned on a regular service to Leeds so there was no chance for a reserved coach (or more pictures). I stayed with the group as far as Bradford Forster Square which gave me chance to download and edit all the pictures to go off for websites and publication before one last farewell group shot – after which, my job was done. Well, apart from editing all the rest of the pictures – but that doesn’t have the same urgency!
Having a couple of hours on my hands and in glorious weather I made my way back to Skipton for some mobile office time, then took a break in the lovely market town to peruse some shops, grab a bite to eat and add a few more library shots to the archive.
CAF/Siemens built Class 333016 arrives at Skipton with a service from Leeds. Note the old stop boards for HSTs by the adjacent track. I’m not sure if these are still relevant to the Hitachi ‘Azuma’ fleet which have taken over LNERs Skipton to Kings Cross service. The ‘new order’ at Shipley, where CAF built 331108 arrives with a service from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square.
Now it’s time to kick-back at home. Having walked over 27,000 steps (12.59 miles, apparently) I’m happy to put my feet up before another (easier) outing tomorrow…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I wasn’t intending to be out and about today but having checked ‘realtime trains‘ this morning I found that there was something different (railway wise) happening on my doorstep. Halifax and the line to Bradford Interchange have a staple diet of Northern and Grand Central passenger trains and bugger all else. Freight disappeared back in the 1980s when newspaper trains disappeared when the print media abandoned the railways and went to road transport as the result of too many strikes. That’s left this area with very little in the way of variety apart from the occasional special train or engineering trains. Today, in fact this week, has seen such a cycle. Freightliner are running what looks like route-learning trips using locomotives locomotives from Leeds to Bradford Interchange via Greetland and Halifax to Bradford Interchange and back. These services are always hit and miss as they often get cancelled but today was my lucky day…
66529 arrives at Bradford Interchange past the abandoned Mill Lane Jn signalbox which nails the location.On the return from Greetland Jn to Bradford and running late 66529 passes through Halifax.
So, now I’m out and about I might as well try for a few more shots in the area. See you later…
15:30.
As the rest of the diagram for these route-learners all went a bit ‘Pete Tong’ I decided to abandon the railways for a while and head back to Bradford to look at a place I’ve promised myself to visit for a few years now. Years ago, when I was wandering across Bradford taking pictures of some of the amazing architecture on the way I was stopped by an elderly Asian gentleman who asked of my interest. When I told him of my interest in architecture he told me about an area of the city centre known as ‘Little Germany’. I’d never heard of it before but decided to do some research on his recommendation.
Now, I have a confession to make. I rather like Bradford. Yes – I know – it’s a deeply unfashionable thing to say. Even the locals give the place a hard time. It’s not a place you’d head to for its nightlife or real ale pubs. Dawn and I once went to the ‘world curry festival’ in Bradford which was a singular disappointment (I think the word I’m actually looking for is crap) but there’s one thing the city excels in and that’s architecture.
‘Little Germany’ is a quarter of the city that was built from the 1850s onwards. It got its name because a lot of the people who built the gorgeous Italianate buildings were German companies (many of them Jewish). There’s a famous name or two involved too. The idea was to take advantage of Yorkshire very profitable woolen trade – as well as exploiting Lancashire’s cotton trade) which involved building impressive offices and showrooms. Sadly, the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 killed off some of the trade, but the buildings were taken over by other companies.
Today the area has large amount of listed buildings. Here’s a few pictures.
The architecture’s not all Italianate. Here’s a good example of Scottish Baronial. This building was constructed in 1871 as the warehouse of Heugh, Dunlop and Company, the partners of whom were John Heugh of Manchester and Walter Dunlop of Bingley – both of whom were Scottish.
As you can see, the area has some beautiful buildings, some of which have been restored and turned into offices and apartments, but many still seem empty. There’s obviously been a conscious effort to regenerate the area, but it’s strangely quiet on the streets. I suspect Covid has a lot to answer for. There are few shops or cafe’s (and no bars) and the ones I saw were closed. If this was Glasgow the place would be buzzing. Instead it’s like a lot of quarters in many English provincial towns – deserted. So much for the governments much vaunted claims of ‘levelling up’. Poor Bradford has been shafted several times recently, which is a crying shame as it really is an architectural gem.
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After the last two days travels today’s been a much quieter one here at Bigland Towers as I’ve barely moved from home, so it’s a short blog from me tonight. Most of the day’s been taken up with editing and captioning all the pictures I’ve been talking, plus catching up with shots I took in Turkey. You can find the pictures in various galleries. Here’s links to Avanti West Coast, Northern, Trans-Pennine Express and Transport for Wales. There’s also additions to the infrastructure and railway stations galleries plus the UK travel section. The new updates take my Zenfolio website over the 83,000 picture mark – and there’s still plenty of archive material to add, but next up will be a new gallery dedicated to Turkish rail operations.
Now all those are out of the way I can concentrate on other activities although I’m not sure if I’ll be travelling again this week as we’re heading into the next tranche of rail strikes, plus the weather’s looking decidedly mixed. We’ll see. I’ll certainly be out and about next week as I’ve commissions that will take me to Bingley and the Settle and Carlisle line as well as the Nottingham area.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was actually taken yesterday during my visit to Llandudno Junction. This is one of Transport for Wales new CAF built trains, 197002 working 2D69, the 1414 Llandudno to Llandudno Junction. On arrival at the Junction and after a layover, it formed a service East to Manchester Airport.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Heading East I caught a train as far as Abergele and Pensarn which is another favorite photo location from the 2000s when I spent a week or so staying in the area to get pictures for the first Lonely Planet guide to Wales. God, that seems such a long time ago as so much has changed since. The days when you could make money out of travel photography seem long gone, but at least the rail shots I took have historic value. I’ll add the shots I took at Abergele at a later stage.
08:45.
I’ve escaped the Pennines once again today. After some thought and looking through the list of pictures I need to get for clients I’ve decided to make the most of the good weather and head to the Welsh border and onto the North Wales coast. So, to that end, I’m now on the handy 08:22 from Sowerby Bridge direct to the gateway to Wales – Chester.
Today the train’s formed of a 3-car CAF built class 195 – and it’s busy with people travelling to work in Manchester.
There’s few seats left and we haven’t reached Hebden Bridge or Todmorden yet. I’ve managed to bag an airline seat but I’m hoping to grab a table after Manchester Victoria so that I can set up the mobile office and do some work as we don’t arrive in Chester until 10:00.
As usual, I’ll be blogging on and off throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to – and where…
08:55.
Having stopped at Rochdale where the platforms were surprisingly empty of custom (another service was 10 mins ahead of us) we’re now on the outskirts of Manchester where a depressing number of clouds are muscling in on the blue skies…
09:10.
As expected, the train emptied out at Victoria, allowing me to dive forward and secure a table just behind the driver’s cab. With the laptop plugged in and powered up and a connection to the wifi secured i’m all set up for the rest of the trip to Chester.
As I needed to use the loo – and out of interest – I’ve walked through the entire train to do a headcount. There’s 31 passengers aboard. Judging by the number of folks using laptops many are working. Others appear to be students, and a few leisure travellers (one woman’s carrying a bag full of plants). Interesting, the gender balance is over 80% female. Of the handful of males aboard there’s a retired gent who’s bus-spotter (I know that by the pictures he’s reviewing on his camera) a couple of Asian lads, a businessman – and me.
09:45.
We’ve now called at and left Warrington Bank Quay station where we threaded our way through Arpley yard and stabling point. This was once a thriving place where coal trains from Scotland and elsewhere reversed before heading along the low-level line to Fidlers Ferry power station. Now the power station’s closed and the coal traffic’s disappeared. There’s still some old coal wagons in store here and a few remain in service carrying other heavy loads, but the majority have gone for scrap, leaving the yard much quieter, although DB still had several locos on the stabling point or shunting. To the East of the yards where factories once stood a huge housing estate is rising. I often wonder where people who will inhabit these places actually work, having displaced industry.
10:07.
That was a turn-up for the books! I’d antiicipated having around 20 mins in Chester but after grabbing a couple of pictures I heard the sound of a locomotive arriving at the adjacent platform 4. To my surprise a TfW Class 67 hauling a rake of ex-Grand Central Mk4s (acquired for the abortive Blackpool service killed by Covid) which remain in black but with TfW branding.
The crew were changing ends and an enquiry with a Dispatcher established this was a late-running Cardiff- Holyhead service (AKA ‘Gerald’) calling at Llandudno Junction – happy days!
TfW contrasts. A single-car Class 153 rests in the bay whilst 67012 waits to head to Holyhead with the late-running service from Cardiff.
12:50.
Time to catch my breath back after a very quick visit to Holyhead. I hadn’t intended heading this far West but as the weather was so good and the train so comfortable I thought what the hell. Besides, it’s nice to visit Holyhead in the daylight and not preparing to bed down in a rake of coaches in the sidings, which is my usual modus operendi as part of ‘3 peaks by rail’. That will be next month! Besides, the relaid sidings at Holyhead are playing host to ranks of stored TfW class 175s, which is worth a picture.
Off to pastures new soon?
By pure co-incidence and the power of social media I found an old friend was also in Holyhead. Jon Veitch and his wife Tina were in town, so Jon and I quickly met up between trains.
Now I’m on Avanti’s 12:46 heading for Llandudno Junction. This service is operated by an ex ‘Virgin Voyager’ (221117 to be exact). They’re not everyone’s cup of tea but they’re due to be replaced by new trains from Hitachi, which have just gone on test.
14:15.
I’m now at Llandudno Junction to get a few more pics and update on old magazine cover. I’ve ‘fond’ memories of this place as a kid from family holidays to Anglesey where my mum had family. We had plenty of time to admire the likes of Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction and Conwy in those days of the late 60s-early 70s – because we spent so much time in my Dad’s car stuck in miles-long traffic jams, going nowhere fast. Not a problem by rail…
221117 at Llandudno Junction on its way to London Euston. The Holyhead crew will work this diagram out and back.
17:20.
Now, where was I? I really enjoyed my break at Llandudno and wander towards Conwy as the weather’s superb. It’s a place I’ve more recent fond memories as Dawn and I came here a few years ago, aalking along the estuary from Llandudno to enjoy some superb Mussels served on Conwy Quay as part of a food festival. Here’s how things looked today.
17:37.
Right now I’m at Rhyl – another place from childhood memories but not a place I ever remember exploring by either road or rail. It has some family history from the days of ‘Mods and Rockers’ when one of my brothers was very much on the ‘rockers’ side and the place was infamous for pitched battles between the two.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 